Over the course of Olympic competition in London, keen observers have noticed Michael Phelps' mother, Debbie, sporting a duct-tape flower. The flower is in apparent honor of Alec John Cosgarea, a 17-year-old McDonogh School swimmer who died July 9 after he lost control of his Ford Fusion on Greenspring Avenue and hit a tree. He was driving back to his home in Owings Mills after competing at a North Baltimore Aquatic Club meet at Meadowbrook pool in Mount Washington. Mr. Cosgarea was the 2012 state champion in the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly, The Sun's Fred Rasmussen reported in Mr. Cosgarea's obituary . In addition to being a committed swimmer, Mr. Cosgarea had artistic talent, Fred reported: As a middle school art student, he started making wallets out of duct tape, including a "hot pink duct tape jacket" that he wore to a friend's bar mitzvah, according to a McDonogh School profile.

Two Baltimore women are being held without bail after being charged with torturing and sexually assaulting another woman in Reservoir Hill, police said. According to a police charging document, a 23-year-old woman told police that a longtime friend, Shameka Davis, 29, invited her to an apartment on Lennox St. on Jan. 23. At the apartment, the woman said Davis tied her to a chair and duct tape was placed over her mouth, and a knit hat was pulled...

LIKE GENERALS BRAINSTORMING future wars, disaster preparedness planners cannot help but be heavily influenced by the last major battles. After 9/11, attention and resources were aimed at tightening airline security. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the focus became the need for timely evacuation of residents and early deployment of military resources. After that saved lives during Hurricane Rita last weekend, emergency management officials in Maryland and across the country are now under pressure to re-examine their disaster plans - with an eye on plans for mass evacuations.

A 31-year-old Severna Park man who said he is following directions from God to visit sites of tragedies in the United States was recently detained and interviewed by authorities after ammunition was found in his car outside the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, where a gunman killed six worshippers and himself in August, police reported. According to an Oak Creek, Wis., police report, Joel Sinclair Corbett walked into the temple about 8:41 a.m. on Oct. 28 wearing a backpack with wires hanging out of it. Police in a nearby parking lot spotted him and drove to the temple.

When Sandy Finley needed gifts for colleagues recently, a store-bought picture frame simply wouldn't do. Instead, she whipped up a little something in pink and black, using a product originally made to keep ammunition cases dry during World War II. "I used patterned duct tape that went with their personalities," says the 45-year-old special-needs high school teacher. And when a ripped swivel stool cried out for a new life, the Harford County resident knew what to do: add turquoise with purple squares and white sunbursts.

Let me begin by saying I'm as concerned about this newest terrorist alert as the next person, unless the next person happens to live in New York or Washington, where the level of concern is a good deal higher. But ... duct tape? And plastic sheeting? For a chemical or biological attack? If that's what the government recommends to seal off a "safe room" in a house, all I can say is, good luck. Me, I'd keep that bio-hazard suit pressed and handy, just in case. In the first place, have you ever watched the average person duct-tape anything?

Police have arrested three men and are seeking at least five others in connection with a series of armed robberies committed by a gang known as the "duct tape bandits." The gang members tied up their victims with duct tape.Arrested yesterday and charged with at least one count of armed robbery was Rufus Tucker, 23, of the 1600 block of N. Calhoun St., police said.Arrested Tuesday on drug charges were Antoine Torain, 20, of the 3500 block of Shirley Ave., and James L. Ray, 20, of the 500 block of Dolphin St., police said.

My husband's doctor told him to put duct tape on his foot to get rid of plantar warts. Do you just cut a small piece and place it on the wart? How long does it take? The duct-tape treatment for warts is quite controversial. The few studies that have been published provide contradictory results. Nevertheless, it is cheap, easy to use, and some readers report surprising success. Here's just one example: "I had a cluster of plantar warts treated by a dermatologist. She used a liquid nitrogen spray, which was excruciatingly painful.

What with Mark Foley and all, you may have missed some of the news that came perilously close to falling through the cracks this week. As a public service, here's a glance backward: Mongolia's legislature on Thursday began debating a law on regulating the use of Genghis Khan's name in a bid to prevent the memory of the legendary conqueror from being cheapened, an Associated Press writer named Ganbat Namjil reported. Since Mongolia emerged from the shadow of the Soviet Union in 1991, the isolated Asian nation has applied the moniker of its favorite son to more than half a dozen brands of vodka and beer and a variety of other commercial products.

The Glenwood library, 2350 Route 97, Cooksville, will sponsor a program on using a versatile material - duct tape - to create a wallet and water-bottle holder from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Registration is required. "A Stitch in Time: The Wonderful World of Quilts," an overview of quilts and quilting with tips on how to evaluate quilts for collecting, will be held at 7 p.m. July 15. Rosemary Clark, owner of RC Dream Quilts and past president of the Baltimore Applique Society, will speak.

When Sandy Finley needed gifts for colleagues recently, a store-bought picture frame simply wouldn't do. Instead, she whipped up a little something in pink and black, using a product originally made to keep ammunition cases dry during World War II. "I used patterned duct tape that went with their personalities," says the 45-year-old special-needs high school teacher. And when a ripped swivel stool cried out for a new life, the Harford County resident knew what to do: add turquoise with purple squares and white sunbursts.

By Jessica Anderson and Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, The Baltimore Sun | September 13, 2012

The 19-year-old man shot inside the Morgan State University student center Wednesday was on campus visiting his cousin, a member of the school's football team, according to Baltimore police. It was a football player who first spotted the victim, said Donald Hill-Eley, Morgan State's head football coach. The player, whom Hill-Eley would not identify, saw the victim collapse outside the student center, he said. The player described the victim as bleeding profusely from the mouth and torso.

Over the course of Olympic competition in London, keen observers have noticed Michael Phelps' mother, Debbie, sporting a duct-tape flower. The flower is in apparent honor of Alec John Cosgarea, a 17-year-old McDonogh School swimmer who died July 9 after he lost control of his Ford Fusion on Greenspring Avenue and hit a tree. He was driving back to his home in Owings Mills after competing at a North Baltimore Aquatic Club meet at Meadowbrook pool in Mount Washington. Mr. Cosgarea was the 2012 state champion in the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly, The Sun's Fred Rasmussen reported in Mr. Cosgarea's obituary . In addition to being a committed swimmer, Mr. Cosgarea had artistic talent, Fred reported: As a middle school art student, he started making wallets out of duct tape, including a "hot pink duct tape jacket" that he wore to a friend's bar mitzvah, according to a McDonogh School profile.

Alec John Cosgarea, a champion McDonogh School swimmer who also competed for the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, died Monday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center after being injured in an automobile accident. The McDonogh senior and Owings Mills resident was 17. Mr. Cosgarea was on his way home Monday evening after participating in a NBAC competition at the club's Meadowbrook facility in Mount Washington when he lost control of his 2006 Ford Fusion on Greenspring Avenue and hit a tree.

Lulu, a pleasantly plump pole dancer from Hanover, Md., made quite the splash last night on "America's Got Talent," shimmying and writhing up her pole and eventually landing in a jaw-dropping split. The 27-year-old contestant, who works as an accounting and title clerk, had "a big goal, and that's to dance," she told the cameras. She's been dancing for as long as she could remember, though having two kids sidelined her for a time. Lulu strutted out onto the stage in a teeny aqua-colored bikini, introduced herself, and began her routine.

It's a daunting feat to try and cover Bob Dylan, but when Creative Alliance rocks their fourth Night of 1000 Dylans on Friday, Brian Simms will be handling the keyboard and accordion responsibilities. "I began picking out songs from the radio on a Schroeder piano at age 5," Simms said. "My parents [later] thought it a sound investment to purchase a life-size one. " Glenelg native and Catonsville resident Simms has recorded and toured with hometown heroes Disappear Fear in the '90s and currently plays in eight bands, including Junkyard Saints.

By Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon and Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon,SPECIAL TO THE SUN | December 8, 2002

I have heard that duct tape works to get rid of warts. How do you use it, and how long does it take? Research on duct tape was published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine in October. Parents were told to cover their children's warts with a piece of duct tape for six days. If it fell off, they were to replace it. At the end of the six days, they removed the tape, soaked the wart in warm water and then filed it down with an emery board. The duct tape was replaced the next day, and the process was repeated for two months or until the wart disappeared.

A Baltimore Circuit Court jury has found a 43-year-old man guilty of suffocating and beating his wife to death inside their Arlington neighborhood home in 2010, according to the city State's Attorney's Office. Michael T. Harrod, 43, is scheduled to be sentenced May 22 and faces life in prison. He was convicted Friday of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Gloria Harrod, 47, whose body was found by the victim's mother and brother on June 26, 2010. Prosecutors said that Harrod confessed to the crime to relatives, prompting the victim's mother and brother to go to the couple's house in the 5200 block of St. Charles Ave. in Northwest Baltimore.

First, an earthquake rattled Carol Boehlein in her Southeast Baltimore rowhouse. Now Hurricane Irene is threatening to blow her windows in. That's why Boehlein and her husband, Bernard, were at a Home Depot in Southeast Baltimore on Friday afternoon with their handyman, buying plywood. They planned to nail the boards to the windows of the house they've lived in for 40 years. "After what happened with the earthquake," Boehlein said, "I don't take nothing for granted. " Across the Baltimore region, people were preparing for the hurricane, the brunt of which is expected to lash Maryland Saturday night and Sunday morning.